Brand YOU Common Sense

All of this Brand YOU conversation really does come down to common sense. In order to make a strong place for yourself in the world of business, you need to know yourself. You need to capitalize on your strengths and shore up your weaknesses, to find ways to let people know how you add value, and to think deeply so that you can speak to the unique assets that you bring to everything that you do.

Being able to do those things puts you ahead of most folks–if you keep the ideas in perspective–because most follks don’t quite understand the concept of brand versus product or store. Keep in mind your brand is a promise you make. Not everyone will take you up on it. Some will look for you to break that promise. One day, in some way, you probably will.

5 Ways to Break the Promise of Your Brand

Here are 5 sure-fire ways to break the promise of your personal brand.

1. Build a brand on what you wish you were instead of what you are. You’ve taken time to build a brand. You’ve gathered the attributes and strengths that you want people to see as yours. But they’re really just pipe dreams–wishes instead of realities. Your promise was made on false pretenses. People recognize soon enough when you’ve oversold yourself. They see it in what you can’t do. You not only lose your brand. You lose any credibility you might have had. It’s exponentially higher, if not impossible, to win back trust, than it is to earn trust you never had.

2. Crack under pressure. Sail along smoothly as a calm and charismatic leader until the chips get down, then lose it all and fall apart. It doesn’t matter whether you whine and shake, or yell and stammer. Lose your humanity, your leadership skills, your sense of humor and your brand is lost right with them. You broke your promise when it counts.

3. Change with the weather. A brand is a promise that you’ll always be there–you, the you that folks have come to know. Your coworkers and business relations don’t want to get to know you every time they meet you. They want a brand they can believe in. Consistency is a cornerstone of any brand. If you’re not consistent you don’t have a brand. Folks don’t make promises with the wind.

4. You don’t believe you. You know what you want to be, and in your heart you want to be it. You just don’t believe you ever will. If you don’t believe you, why in the world would I? It’s not good business to bet on a promise that starts with I’m not so sure, but I want to try.

5. You think Brand YOU is an entitlement. Whoa! Slow down cowboy. This isn’t a rodeo, and you don’t have the silver buckle yet. You see Brand YOU isn’t really about you at all. It’s about the customer, and the customer is every person who is NOT you–the folks you work with and those you serve. Brand YOU is merely a way of communicating to them what you stand for in shorthand so that you can get on to the relationship of working together with some common knowledge of each other as already established ground. The promise should be that you’re there for THEM.

Just like any broken promise, no personal brand at all is better than a broken personal brand.

Turning Brand YOU Upside-Down

Now that you’ve identified your personal brand and you know what it’s there for. It’s time to turn it upside-down. It’s time to add the most crucial part of it. ME–Well, me the customer. The customer is the reason you made a brand in the first place. The customer is the one who lets you know what your brand really is.

Now Brand YOU becomes Brand YOU & ME. Two is a lot more fun. Just wait I’ll show you why and how.

Brand Integrity

People say, Ã¢â¬ÅDonÃ¢â¬â¢t judge a book by its cover.Ã¢â¬?

In any relationship of substance, there comes a moment when things go wrong. Often folks can simply adjust and move forward, occasionally the damage is large enough that things need to stop before progress can be made. Problems need to be fixed. How these moments are handled can mean the end of a relationship or just the opposite an even stronger bond of respect is forged.

Integrity, graciousness, and the ability to deal in times of problems are key indicators of brand strength and viability. People look to see who you and your business really are when troubles come your way.

Handle Yourself, Not the Problem

Problems are opportunities . . . make lemonade. . . yeah, yeah, we all know that. The truth is. They don’t look or feel that way, when they’re happening and we don’t feel like drinking lemonade. In business, ignoring problems or running away from them usually isn’t an option, at least not for long. So instead, we rush in and try to handle them–be the hero, adrenaline pumping. That’s when we make wrong decisions–knee-jerk reactions happen. Words get said that aren’t our usual, in tones that aren’t our own.

The key to solving problems with grace and brand integrity is NOT to handle them, but to handle ourselves instead. Try these steps the next times a crisis hits to keep your head safely wired to your heart.

1. Breathe before you do anything else. I have a saying on my personal blog, it’s from the very first blog post I ever wrote

I try to remember, when problems come, that if I don’t feel taken care of myself, I’m not going to give a very good showing. So the first thing I do is a personal check. When was the last time I ate, slept, saw something beside flourescent lighting or a hotel room? I walk outside to see sky and trees if I can. It’s hard to take any business stress over-seriously when I’ve just been confronted with the scope of nature and taken a moment to breathe.

2. The more that you want to run, the more that you should walk instead. Forcing myself to think slowly keeps me from knee-jerk reactions It also leaves space for other folks to talk.

3. The minute you feel righteous you are wrong. When I feel a crusade coming on, I find someone to tell me what I’m not seeing. There is no problem with only one side. I know I need balance. I need somone to tell me what I’m about to get wrong.

4. When you have balance, THEN gather facts to make an informed plan of action.

5. Execute the plan with confidence and calm.

No Need to Be Pollyanna

No, you don’t have to look forward to problems, nor do you need to think the sun is always shining. The world can only take so many Pollyannas. Still, it is nice to have the confidence of knowing that when a problem comes, you can handle it with grace and be a credit toyour brand.

You’ll know you’re there when folks start asking how you stay so cool under pressure. They will. When they do, just smile and paraphrase my sentence for them

I find that when I give myself a little breathing room, everyone gets nicer.

Keeping It Going

Now that you’ve got the basics of your brand YOU in place, you might start a log. Keep track of ideas that work for you and things that you want to work on. You might keep notes on feedback you get that applies to your brand strategy–statements folks make about you, such as “Gee, you’re always so good at getting things done.” Keeping track of such things is important because other folks really decide what your brand is. You only decide what you want it to be.

The first notes in your journal might include notes on leadership such as this.

2 Keys to Leadership

Leadership is an essential part of any personal brand. A living leadership brand has two vital keys–humanity and communication.

You show humanity when you accept your own mistakes and the mistakes others make. There is leadership in that big word forgiveness that too many would be leaders often miss. How nice it is to work for, and with, someone who not only forgives others, but forgives himself or herself as well. Leaders who never err, make everyone nervous, so don’t try to be perfect. That only makes others think they have to be perfect too.

Part of being human is talking to other humans. Communicate. The free flow of information is critical in any leadership role. Communication not only lets people know what is going on, it lets them know that you care about them. Share your thoughts with discretion, grace, and humility. They will return the favor by sharing their thoughts with you.

An Ongoing Task

Building a brand and keeping it going is an ongoing, organic, living, breathing task–just as being you is. Check in on your brand every day or so to see how it’s going. Check your desk to make sure that it still looks like your big idea, too. Each time you reach a benchmark–a great sale, a promotion, a new client–check in on your brand and decide whether it needs a new coat of paint.

Your personal brand is an investment in you and your future. You’re a leader now. Let’s work together to keep your brand a perfect example of the unique valuable you.

Sunday Afternoon Reading

Chicago.

If you get to know Chicago, you’ll understand why I like it so–despite the winters. It’s the American midwest work ethic, the reason Chicago is called the City of Big Shoulders, the City that Works. It’s the people and the midwest sense of humor.

It was Sunday. I stopped by a neighborhood bar, picked up a free newspaper from the stack by the door. I ordered a glass of wine and asked for a hamburger with pickle, onion, ketchup, and mustard. Then I scan the headlines.

I know that you can find this free paper in other cities–it’s even online–but it’s in every neighborhood bar, bookstore, and coffee shop in downtown Chicago. We think of it as our own. Maybe it’s an onion-connection thing. Historians say the word, Chicago, means stinking onion.

The Onion is not only America’s Finest New’s Source . . . per their trademark. According to their media kit, they are also hailed by the New Yorker as “The Funniest Publication in the United States.” “A Message from The Corporate Office” attributed to “the esteemed Captain of Commerce” promises that

. . . Every one of our readers is firmly ensconced within the plum 18-49 demographic . . . we went so far as to lobby the halls of Congress . . . to make reading The Onion mandatory for this group . . . Thankfully the law passed in 1997, forever ensuring that our readers are highly paid easily persuadable young folk with money to burn. . . .

Now there’s brand-centered promotion that knows its goal and communicates its big idea–crisp, clear, sweet. It’s what I call Frosted Mini-Wheats promotion. It satisfies my adult sophisticated sense of humor and my kid-like sense of fun at the same time.

If you’re not familiar with this news source, it’s a perfect thing to try this day after April Fool’s Day, when we’ve just changed the clocks to lose an hour of sleep.

And about those naked women . . . check the story. It ran July 18, 2001. I still remember it. I still think it’s funny.

Covers Sell Books

People say, Don’t judge a book by its cover. People judge books by covers. Covers sell books. We only have so much time to look at books, and the cover is what gets our attention. This photo lets you know how important a cover can be. As a publisher, I’d edit that old advice to say, Judge a book by its cover, but also judge the book builder too.

A book cover makes a promise about what you will find when you open the book.

Your image works the same way for you.

What’s Your Cover?

What people see about you, your first impression, your image, is like the book cover to your personal brand. Your first impression literally makes a mental image. Your image makes a silent promise about who you are and what people can count on when they get to know you. That mental image lasts. Pictures stay longer than words.

When there’s a question about what to believe, your image might just tip the balance. That’s a powerful reason to be sure that the big idea of your brand carries through into all things that people see around you. Here’s a checklist that might help you make sure your image supports your personal brand.
For the sake of this checklist let’s imagine that you want to be known as one who is always on top of information.

Your personal image. Do you dress the part? Do the clothes you wear and your haircut look pulled together? Do you sit and stand like one who is always ready to take notes? Have you got the right energy level? Do you carry the tools you need? Notebook, pens, list of phone extensions to use when outside your office? When you’re asked, can you look things up and find them?

Your workspace. Is your workspace organized? Is your computer desktop organized too? Have you put the things you use most often closest to where you use them? Have you placed the things people are likely to ask for in a place where you can find them quickly? When you stand at your doorway, does your space look like the workspace of one who handles information well?

Your skills. Have you mastered information software programs, such as spreadsheets and databases that might be useful in your job? Do you know more than usual references that people might use to answer questions that come up?

Once you start thinking in this direction, you’ll start to see that everything you do is an opportunity to enhance the big idea of your personal brand. It’s not so hard to develop habits that form around your big idea. That’s the key learning to live your brand.

People do judge books by the promise of the cover. Make a promise they will value. One that you will keep–and they’ll notice it for sure.

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